2026 Faculty Showcase

About

UM's Platform for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (PETAL) is delighted to announce the 12th annual Faculty Showcase. The Faculty Showcase is the University of Miami’s teaching and learning conference—an annual gathering where faculty share, network, and discover the ways in which their colleagues are enriching student experiences through innovative pedagogies and learning technologies. Led by faculty for faculty, this conference aims to support faculty development and enhance student learning.

Shalala Student Center (3rd floor ballrooms) -1330 Miller Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146

Friday, November 6, 2026

Time: 9:30-3:00 p.m

Please visit our Faculty Showcase page for full agenda.

Keynote Speaker: Ben Lauren

Ben Lauren is Professor of Writing Studies at the University of Miami, where he currently serves as the inaugural Chair of the Department of Writing Studies and founding Director of Innovation and Society, an interdisciplinary program that helps students develop competencies in creative problem solving, design, accessibility, and futures-oriented thinking.

At the center of his work is a commitment to understanding creativity as a human, organizational, and educational practice. As a scholar-artist, educator, and academic leader, Ben explores how writing, design, sound, and creative production shape the ways people make meaning, collaborate, innovate, and imagine futures.

His scholarship spans rhetoric, professional writing, user experience, project management, experiential learning, design thinking, and songwriting. He is particularly interested in how acts of making generate knowledge, build communities, and create change. His work has appeared in journals such as Kairos, Computers and Composition, and IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. Ben is also the author of three books: Communicating Project Management: A Participatory Rhetoric for Development Teams (Routledge); Hold Me Down: Toward a Rhetoric of Feel (University of Michigan Press); and, with Kyle D. Stedman, Can I Ask a Question? A Dialog About Sonic Rhetoric, Professional Writing, and Creative-Critical Scholarship (Intermezzo).

Learning Circles Sessions

Join small-group, presenter-led roundtable discussions focused on specialized teaching topics. Each 30-minute session offers an opportunity to exchange ideas, ask questions, and learn from colleagues. Multiple discussions take place concurrently over two rounds, allowing you to participate in more than one topic.